For nearly three decades, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas sat on opposite sides of an ideological fence, but their disagreements did not prevent them from having a high degree of respect for each other.

When newly elected Illinois State Representative Abraham Lincoln first saw 5-foot, 4-inch Stephen Douglas, he sized him up as “the least man I ever saw.” With the introduction of Douglas’ first bill in 1834, Lincoln soon thought differently. The General Assembly not only passed the bill, it appointed the 21-year-old Douglas States Attorney of Illin